doing business in myanmar – what you need to know as a singaporean
Myanmar is to dramatically scale up its bio-energy ambitions with the building of a power plant in its Ayeyawaddy region fuelled by rice husks that will generate more than 12 million kilowatts annually. The building of the plant, which will use more than 18,000 tonnes of rice husks and operate round the clock for eleven months, is 80% funded by the Japanese conglomerate Fujita Corporation.
The remaining 20% is being contributed by the organisation set up in 2012 to kick-start investment in agriculture-based industries in the country, Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (MAPCO).
The Fujita Corporation-MAPCO drive to introduce the sustainable power plant in Myanmar has been taken to enable Myanmar’s burgeoning rice industry to receive a reliable power supply. A key target for the country is to increase its level of rice exports, but the quality of power in the Ayeyawaddy region – where most of its rice is grown – is constantly affected by chronic power shortages, restricting its capacity to process the staple of Asian cuisine.
Though not the first electrical power facility of its type in Myanmar, the new plant will be different in the fact that it will not discharge the toxic substances that existing plants can release, making the local environment cleaner and safer for communities living there. It is also hoped that, with the arrival of Fujita Corporation-MAPCO plant, that the problem of illegal dumping of rice husks would end.
Not just providing for the area’s rice industry, the rice husk-powered energy plant will also be able to sell 38,760 kilowatts of its energy a day, a surplus that adds up to around 12,700,000 kilowatts a year.
The Fujita Corporation works across a wide range of infrastructure projects including logistics, commercial facilities, bridges and dams, and has even developed a range of technologies to lessen the effects of seismic activity on buildings. MAPCO, meanwhile, works closely with the government of Myanmar to set up and invest not only in modern rice mills and warehousing facilities but also on infrastructure and strategic projects to help alleviate poverty through agribusiness activities within the rural communities.
Part of the funding for the project construction costs comes from the “Financing Programme for Joint Crediting Mechanism Model Projects from 2016 to 2017”, led by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan.
Source: Bio Based World News
To see the original article click link here
